Thursday, May 19, 2011

Beautiful oops! by Barney Saltzberg (823 Sa39B PIC BK) is a great little book celebrating the opportunities that arise when we make mistakes.

This small, interactive board book is not only for small children (recommended for ages 3 and up) but for everyone, because who hasn’t made a mistake?

The focus here is on art - and what to do when you drip paint, tear a page, leave a coffee stain, or make a hole in whatever project you happen to be working on. The torn paper becomes the mouth of a crocodile. Drips of paint become cartoon pigs driving away in a car. A coffee stain, depending on the shape, may become a hungry frog. And the hole becomes an accordion-folded viewing ‘scope’ that pops up. See what’s on the bottom layer.

The message, however, can certainly extend beyond the obvious. We can all look for opportunities to make our mistakes into something else, into a beautiful something else.

The book is creative, fun and a reminder that everything in life doesn’t have to be absolutely perfect. So, for all the perfectionists out there, this book is for you. Relax. Have fun with your (inevitable) mistakes.

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About Me

I am the reference coordinator at The Doucette Library of Teaching Resources, a curriculum library in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary.
I love connecting education students and teachers with engaging and exciting resources for classroom teaching. I believe that resources that get me excited (or those that get you excited) are the ones with the best potential to get kids interested in learning about - well, everything. Finding those books that connect to the real world are the ones I enjoy promoting the most.